Usain Bolt 100m world record under threat

Usain Bolt ran 9.58 seconds in the 100m at the 2009 Berlin World Championship, to set the world record, fans across the globe thought that this mark would be imprinted in the record books for a long time. Bolt, the Jamaican sprinter who also holds the world record of 19.19 seconds in the 200m, which he also set in Berlin, had gradually build himself to getting the two records. He burst on the scene in 2008, running 10.03 and 9.76 seconds in Kingston, Jamaica before running 9.72 seconds on May 31, at Icahn Stadium in New York to break the 100m world record. Bolt went on to lower the record at the Beijing Olympics (9.69) and a year later set the current mark of 9.58 seconds. It’s been over 6 years since that 9.58 seconds has been on the books and Bolt has struggled with injuries, misfortune, desire, motivation and lack of competition. Whatever the case, Bolt has been unable to replicate or lower his record.  Fast-forward to Justin Gatlin’s 9.74 seconds performance at the Doha Diamond yesterday (May 15) that has the track and field world whispering with giddy anticipation that the 33 year-old American sprinter is now a viable threat, by season’s end to dethrone and replace Usain Bolt as the fastest man on the planet. Gatlin a legitimate threat Should we be surprised by Gatlin’s 9.74 performance in Doha yesterday?  No, not at all. Gatlin is coming off a superb and dominating 2014 season in which he was undefeated in the 100m, setting a personal best 9.77 seconds along the way and claiming the 100m Diamond league crown.   Despite his questionable past in being reprimanded and serving suspensions for performance-enhancing drug violations, Gatlin has made his intention known that he was on a mission to regain the sprinting title. And he has a legitimate chance to accomplishing that feat. Here is why. Early season performance is sometimes an indication of things to come. In 2008, when Bolt first set his world record of 9.72 seconds on May 31 in New York, he had run 9.76 seconds a few weeks earlier on May 3 at a meet in Kingston. Bolt highlighted his season by lowering his time to 9.69 seconds at the Olympics taking the time to beat his chest as he crossed the finished line. This shows that Bolt could have won in even faster time. Gatlin ran 9.74 (+0.9) seconds on May 15, which is relatively early in the season. As in 2008, 2015 is a championship or Olympic year where it is all about peaking at the right time. The world championship is scheduled for Beijing, China from August 22-30, 2015. Coaches and athletes will always say that they use the first race of the season to see where the athletes are. What they need to work on and fine-tune for the national trials and the major championship. Gatlin 9.74 second run on May 15 indicates that he can go faster by season’s end.  Party-crasher At age 28, Bolt seems to be on the decline, as his recent injuries indicate. But he is still young by track and field standards. We have not seen the best of him in recent years. But 2015 is a championship year and Bolt seems to enjoy collecting gold medals. On the other hand, Justin is 33 years old and is getting stronger and faster with age. These two men are on a collision course that could play-out in China this summer. Bolt’s world record 9.58 seconds could become a casualty of this encounter. In 2008, The Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing was the site where Usain won his first Olympic gold medals in world record fashion and introduced himself  not just to track fans, but to the world as the fastest man on the planet. Seven years later, Bolt’s encore Beijing performance may be upstaged by an older Gatlin, who has made it his life mission to become the fastest man on the planet.     Written by O’Neil A. Reid (edited by Raymond Byfield). O’Neil is the author of the book “Banned for Life, The Steve Mullings Story” and is the host of “The Sport Zone with the Professor Show” that is aired on Sunday  afternoons at www.JamminzRadio.com from 12:00 noon to 2:00pm. O’Neil can be reached at oreid@trackledger.com